The Stone Door

A well-meaning investigation, two girlfriends, a strange house, one disappearance, and a stone door. Stefanie Alexis’ book The Stone Door starts off in a normal setting, two lifelong friends Izi and Alex getting annoyed by Izi’s brother Jason and his friend Brad. One stupid dare and a sudden disappearance later and the entire community, including Izi’s family will never be the same again.

The police think this is a common runaway, but the girls know better. All signs point to the abandoned home of Esmeralda Mason, the town beauty of her day. A trip through one mysterious stone door and our heroes find themselves in a new realm. A detailed fantastical world named Zalexia.

Once you enter this new world, the excitement comes at you like a rush. A mystic cloud-topped castle guarding against the shadows of the evil dark forest. This book is fast paced, never rushed, the landscape of this fantasy world builds on the tapestries of C.S. Lewis while her characters and their adolescent adventures are reminiscent of the early chapters of the Harry Potter saga.

I don’t want to give too many details away. But, I’ll state that the book is as much about sisterly love as fantasy and adventure. Just as many pages are dedicated to the concepts of family and loyalty as there are about witchcraft. This is an adventure perfect for any preteen and Alexis manages to never overextend the narrative or have the otherworldly elements of the story seem heavy-handed.

Perhaps the book’s best quality is its ability to seem real. The creatures and worlds are absolutely original. They require a huge level of talent from the writer to pull off and a depth of imagination from the reader to visualize. Yet, thanks to Alexis’ outstanding narrative and her descriptive eye, the fantasy works . . . Very well. It doesn’t feel corny or campy. Just a great adventure about two friends trying to make two different worlds safe.